Separations of the Sea
by MegaWallflower
Summary: 100 short stories about a red headed princess of heart that washed up on Destiny Islands.
1. Words

Setting: Kairi's Room, when she was writing her letter  
>Genre: General, Friendship<br>Characters: Kairi  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Words<p>

Kairi wasn't always the best at getting her feelings across clearly. She wanted to let others know what was on her mind, but she could never form the words.

She couldn't tell the mayor what she really thought of her new shirt that was too big for her and had a strange design. She didn't want to hurt his feelings after he'd taken her in so generously, after all.

She couldn't tell the others why that door in their secret cave with the huge keyhole had always made her so uneasy. She couldn't explain that to herself.

She couldn't tell her friends how scared she was to go on a raft trip to other worlds. They were so eager, and she'd hate to spoil that or part with them.

She couldn't tell Sora what she'd meant by Riku's changes or why she didn't want him to change. Kairi tried to convince herself that that was just her being weird and paranoid.

She couldn't convince Sora that she might have been able to help him had she joined him on his search for Riku. She knew Sora wouldn't listen, though.

She couldn't explain to Selphie and the others what had happened to Sora and Riku. She hoped that telling them that she was confident they'd return was enough.

Kairi laid a piece of paper on her desk and sharpened her pencil purposefully. It didn't matter if she'd stumbled over her words then. She would get them right in this message, here and now.

Kairi picked out the words she needed and prepared her message. This time, she'd be heard.


	2. Perfection

Setting: The Castle that Never Was, SoRiKai Reunion  
>Genre: Friendship<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora, Riku  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Perfection<p>

Kairi wasn't the fastest or the strongest of her friends. She didn't say everything clearly. And sometimes she felt like she held Sora and Riku back or put them in danger…

Sora wasn't the brightest or most focused of the bunch. Everyone always teased him on how much better Riku was. Even Riku and Kairi seemed to agree that Riku was better at everything...

Riku wasn't the most secure. He'd fallen to darkness and destroyed his islands. He'd almost killed Sora and Kairi. He was sure they'd never forgive him for that. He'd been such an idiot...

But when Kairi put Riku and Sora's hand together and they stood there, finally reunited after a long year apart, they couldn't see all those flaws. They each saw their two best friends and it was as if nothing else mattered.

Kairi wasn't sure if it was just herself being a bit sappy, but right now, she didn't think this moment could be any more perfect.


	3. Phrase

Setting: Destiny Island Beach, A few days/weeks or so after Kairi washes ashore  
>Genre: Friendship<br>Characters: Kairi, Selphie  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Phrase<p>

Kairi poked around in the sand sadly. She'd tried to help Selphie make her picture look better.

_"I think you should add some purple here!"_  
><em>"No! I want that to be yellow!"<em>  
><em>"But Selphie~."<em>  
><em>"No, Kairi! It's <em>my_ cowboy!"_  
><em>"But I just want to help."<em>  
><em>"You're messing him up! You..."<em>

Then, Selphie called Kairi the meanest thing ever. Kairi had run to beach crying. She didn't mean to make Selphie that mad. She'd just wanted to help her make a picture... She just wanted to make a new friend...  
>Kairi always played with Sora and Riku, but they were sick today. Kairi dragged her finger across the sand and made a frowny face. Then, she added some hair straight hair to it and a smiley face next to it. To the smiling face, she added hair that curled upwards at the bottom. She smiled as she wrote her message at the bottom.<br>"...Kairi?"  
>Kairi almost jumped when she heard Selphie's voice. She hadn't noticed someone coming behind her. Kairi turned around and sadly looked at the sand. "Uh-huh?"<br>"...I'm sorry I called you a doo doo head..." Selphie apologized. "I didn't mean it."  
>Kairi smiled. "I'm sorry I messed up your cowboy picture..."<br>Selphie smiled back. "It's okay. I made a new picture." Selphie handed her picture to Kairi. It had Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, and Kairi all smiling on the beach.  
>Kairi smiled and cheered. "I made a picture for you, too!"<br>Kairi stepped to the side and pointed to her drawing in the sand. It had a frowning Kairi and a smiling Selphie, and underneath it was the word, "Sory".  
>"...Do you wanna be friends?" Kairi asked excitedly.<br>Selphie nodded happily. "Sure! Wanna play jump-rope with me?"  
>Kairi tilted her head quizically. "But I don't know how..."<br>"Don't worry! I'll show you!" Selphie took Kairi's and and they ran back home to grab a couple of jump-ropes.  
>Kairi made a mental note to try to phrase things a bit more carefully in the future...<p>

As Kairi watched Selphie's moves with awe, the ocean washed away Kairi's picture. But that was inevitable. The picture faded, but the bond would never break.


	4. Tracking

Setting: Destiny Islands, About age nine  
>Genre: Friendship, Humor<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora, Riku  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Tracking<p>

"11...12...13...14...15! Ready or not, here I come!" Kairi pulled back from the tree and hopped down excitedly. She ran across the bridge and almost tripped as she got back to the sand. She kept herself from falling and looked around. She smiled as she noticed a spike of brown hair sticking out from one of the bushes.

She snuck over quietly and tugged softly on his hair. "Sora, I found you!"  
>Sora pouted as he crawled out of the bushes. "How'd you find me so fast?" He pouted.<br>Kairi giggled happily. "I think I'll always be able to find you, Sora!" Kairi rubbed his spiked hair playfully.  
>Sora pulled his head back and covered his hair with his hands. "Haha, my hair is so wierd, right?" He joked.<br>"What do ya mean? That's not the only reason I can always find you," Kairi wore a serious expression.  
>"Oh? Then how?" Sora asked.<br>Kairi looked around briefly. "You know, I can never seem to find Riku..."  
>Sora smiled happily. "Don't worry, I'll track him down! Just guard the base!" Sora pointed back to the bent paopu tree. "Wait for me, 'kay? I'll bring him back."<br>Kairi shook her head adamantly. "No way. Waiting for you to find him would be too boring. Come on, we'll track him down together."  
>Sora was about to protest, but Kairi ran off search the secret place before she could protest.<br>Sora sighed and smiled as he watched Kairi look around to try to find Riku. This might take a while, since Riku was really good at hiding...

Kairi panted softly as she marched back to the paopu tree. Sora trudged behind her. "We looked all over the island... Where could he be?" Sora noted.  
>Kairi pouted and turned slightly red as she leaned her back against the tree. "...Fine, you win, Riku! Olly olly oxen free!"<br>"I was wondering when you two would admit defeat," Kairi heard from behind her.  
>She turned around and saw Riku smiling smugly down at the two of them. "But... how?" Sora said, looking around confusedly.<br>Riku chuckled at the boy's amusement. "Magic," he joked.  
>Kairi smiled in determination. "Fine, but just you wait, Riku. One day, I'm going to find you, whether you like it or not!"<br>The three of them laughed as they climbed onto the tree trunk together to watch the sunset. 


	5. Fountain

Setting: Radiant Garden Fountains, After BBS but before she got sent to Destiny Islands  
>Genre: Friendship<br>Characters: Kairi, Ienzo, Scrooge McDuck, Kairi's Grandma, Even  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Fountain<p>

Kairi hummed as she looked at her reflection in clear waters of the fountains. They had pink, purple, and blue hues in them, and the little girl loved all those colors. She reached her hand into the cool water and smiled as she felt it run past her fingers.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone. She straighten up and looked over at a boy with silvery hair that covered one of eyes. He was wearing a white lab coat and was a little taller than her. He was examining the waters of the fountain too.

Kairi ran over to him and tugged on his coat. "Hi!" She greeted. "I've never seen you before. Who are you?" She extended her hand warmly.

The boy glanced over at the girl before going back to examining the waters of the fountain.

"I'm Kairi! Nice to meet you!" Kairi said, trying again to start a conversation. "So, you like the fountain waters, too?" After waiting for a response, but still getting nothing, Kairi added, "They're pretty, right?" Kairi was started to become a little frustrated at how this boy was ignoring her.

"Ice cream! Sea-salt Ice cream for sale!"

Kairi's eyes widened as she turned and looked over at the duck pushing a cart. She pointed to it and looked back at the boy. "Want some ice cream? My grandma gave me some munny."

Kairi tugged on his sleeve as she ran towards the cart, leaving him no choice but to be dragged along. She stopped at the cart and smiled at the duck on the other side of it as she struggled to stretch her hand over it and pass him her munny. "Two, please!"

"Here ya go, lassie." Scrooge McDuck handed her two sea-salt ice creams as she left the money on his cart.

"Thank you, Mr. McDuck!" Kairi said, politely bowing before holding out one of the ice creams to the boy.  
>The boy took it in his hand and stared at it pensively.<p>

"You don't like ice cream?" Kairi asked as she tugged him back to the fountain. "Have you tried it before?"  
>Kairi stared at the boy as he kept watching the ice cream so intently. "You eat it! Like this! Nomnomnom!" Kairi made sound effects as she bit into her ice cream.<p>

Ienzo gingerly licked his ice cream, and Kairi giggled as she thought she saw a small smile on his face.

"...You know, you seem to watch a lot of things. Have you noticed anything weird? Like... It just feels kind of darker..." Kairi looked up at the boy, who was now staring down at her while he ate his ice cream.  
>Kairi sat down by the fountain and patted the ground next to her for the boy to join her, but he stayed standing. "Well... once, I was being chased by these weird black things. They were, um..." Kairi struggled to find a good way to describe the creatures. "They were little, and fast, and twitchy, and had red eyes, and zigzagy ears..."<br>Ienzo looked intently at Kairi, and she smiled. "So you've seen them around?"

Ienzo nodded slightly before returning to his ice cream. Kairi looked back into the waters and ate a bit more of her as well. "But then, this really cool and nice lady came and saved me! She had a really big key that she fought with!" Kairi said in reverence. "I wonder if I can be like her someday..."

The boy nodded again and Kairi's smile widened. "You know what I mean? You've seen her?"

Kairi took the boy's pensive silence as a "no". "...Someone like her, then? With a big key? Did they save you?"  
>The boy stared at the girl and she smiled. "I wonder where they came from. I'd never seen them before, and I've looked around, but I can't seem to find them... Then again, this is the first time we've met, too, huh?"<p>

As Kairi finished her ice cream, she stared at the stick. "W...wi..." Kairi struggled, since she'd just recently learned how to read. "...Win-e-re?"

"Kairi!"

"Oh!" Kairi handed the stick to the boy and hopped back up. "That's my grandma. I have to go. I'll see you again! Bye!"

The boy watched as Kairi ran off to join the small old lady calling her. He stared at the stick. _Winner._ He wondered what he'd won. Or, rather, what she'd won.

In a few minutes, he heard Even calling after her. "Ienzo. I told you not to wander off again, child."

Ienzo put the sticks in his pocket and followed after Even silently.


	6. Modeling

Setting: Secret Cave on Destiny Islands, When Sora and Kairi were drawing in the cave  
>Genre: Friendship<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Modeling<p>

Kairi kept looking over at Sora from the corner of her eye then back at the rocky wall of the cave as she scribbled his picture into the wall. He kept moving as he drew something, too, but she was able to get a good look at her model nonetheless. She worked hard to get his hair just right. She carefully dragged her rock across the wall to make the spikes of his hair as precise as she could. She even made little lines for the pieces of hair that stuck out from the spikes. She left a bit of the picture unmarked to shaped the ear, the eye, and an arched eyebrow. Finally, she made a huge smile, the trademark of her best friend.

She smiled as she looked over the job she had done before abruptly turning to see what Sora had drawn. Sora finished just then and looked over at the picture Kairi had drawn.

Kairi brightened when she saw Sora's drawing of her. He had done an outline, rather than color it all in and leave clear spaces for body parts like she did. Her hair was pretty messy and she was blushing and smiling happily.

Kairi looked at Sora's face to see what his reaction was to her drawing. He grinned his goofy smile at her and she giggled. He liked it!

Kairi ran her hand over her hair as she brightly said, "Thanks for modeling, Sora! Was I a good model, too?"  
>Sora nodded and put his hands behind his head casually. "The best!"he exclaimed, making Kairi giggle again.<p> 


	7. Orderly

Setting: Destiny Islands, Day before Kingdom Hearts begins  
>Genre: Friendship, Humor<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora, Riku  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Orderly<p>

"Okay, time to build our raft!"  
>Kairi, Sora, and Riku cheered as they planned how their raft would look. They ran off to find everything they thought the raft would need.<p>

Kairi dug in the sand, collected pink thallassa shells. A charm would be absolutely imparitive to have, right?

"Okay Kairi, I have everything!"  
>Kairi turned around and looked at everything Sora gathered. He had stones, feathers, and sticks in a little pile. Kairi tilted her head. "I don't think this will work well, Sora."<p>

Sora frowned. "What's wrong with it?"

Kairi smiled at Sora knowing. "You were playing around instead of looking, weren't you?"

"Yes, he was." Riku walked over and placed two logs on the ground.

"Hey!"

Kairi looked up at the darkening sky. "It's getting late... Sora, tomorrow I'll tell you what you have to find and you'll bring it back to me." She stood up and smiled at the two boys. "For now, let's home."

Riku smiled smugly while Sora pouted as they walked home.

Kairi told Sora and Riku everything they'd need to gather for the day while she waited by the door. Everything would go fine, right? Nice and orderly... Or at least ot would as soon as she woke Sora up.

Kairi giggled as she walked to her sleeping friend.


	8. Weakened

Setting: Destiny Islands, Night of the storm  
>Genre: Drama<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Weakened<p>

_If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks._

Kairi sighed as she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what their trip would be like. What would other worlds be like? Who would they meet there? Would they find her origins?

However, Kairi couldn't really think about those things. She'd been anticipating going on the raft with Sora and Riku now that she wasn't so scared anymore... but there was a nagging fear growing in her...

She opened her eyes and whispered, to no one, "Riku..."

Kairi sat up and look out her window. She stared into the dark sky warily. _Something isn't right..._ Kairi slipped on her shoes and hopped out of bed, but collapsed to her knees. She hadn't realized how tired she'd felt... She used her bedside to pull herself back up. She ran to the front door, careful not to fall.

"Where are you going?" the mayor, Kairi's caretaker, asked.

"Can I go check on something?" Kairi pleaded. She was starting to feel really worried and ill, but she tried not to give that away. "I'll be right back!"

"You don't sound too good... hurry back, okay?" the mayor decided. "It's too late to be wondering around alone."

Kairi nodded and smiled before turning back around and running outside. She an to the shore and readied her boat as quickly as she could. As she grabbed her oars ad began to peddle to the play island, she started to feel dizzy as well and almost fell over the edge of the boat. She was snapped out of it by the thump of her boat against the play island's pier. Kairi held onto the wooden walkway and weakly pulled herself up out of the boat, only to nearly fall back in as she leaned back to dodge the swipe of a small black creature.

Kairi ran to the nearest shelter she could think of: the secret place. She ducked inside the door clumsily and stared at the door with a large keyhole on it in the back of the cave. Something seemed to be trying to push its way out... something scary. Kairi pushed back against the door and it stopped pushing forward, but she lost her footing and slipped forward onto her face. "No... the raft... the islands..." she muttered, using all her strength to get back up while practically willing the door to stay closed. "...My friends..." Kairi finally stood up and struggled to keep from stumbling back down. She straightened up and stared at the door, frowning. She couldn't do this much longer...

"Kairi!"

She had to focus to understand what was happening. She slowly turned to face her friend and managed a weak, "Sora..." She reached out towards him, but something suddenly pushed her from behind and made her rush forward. She saw Sora open his arms to catch her, and that was the last thing she saw before she completely blacked out.


	9. Indignant

Setting: Hollow Bastion, right after Sora just disappeared  
>Genre: Drama<br>Characters: Kairi  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Indignant<p>

Kairi was mad.

It wasn't as though she'd never been mad before. She'd been in fights before, and she'd argued with her friends before. She'd even had to deal with a bully once.

But those were nothing compared to this. Riku wasn't himself at all anymore, and Sora had vanished into light.

All for her. It was her fault to begin, wasn't it?

But she hadn't done anything! She and her friends were just playing around like usual before this! Kairi couldn't stand for this.

She took a stance and looked around, ready to fight. This wasn't fair, and she wasn't just going down without knowing how either of her friends were.


	10. Drafty

Setting: Destiny Islands, About age 12  
>Genre: Humor, General<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora, Riku  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Drafty<p>

It was a windy day on Destiny Islands. Kairi sat on the bent tree limb and stared out at the ocean.

"The wind feels great!" Kairi said wistfully, using one hand to keep her hair out of her eyes, and the other to hold down her skirt. "Right , Sora?"

She turned to look at her friend, but found him fast asleep on the warm sand. Kairi giggled. "You were bouncing around just a few minutes ago. How does he do that?" She turned to her other friend who leaned next to her against the tree. "So it's just you and me, Riku!" she smiled and hopped down.

Riku stared off over the horizons for a little while longer before getting off of the tree and smiling at the younger girl. "So what do you want to do?"

Kairi made a pensive expression and looked around for a moment. "We can race to the pier! Ready?"

"Really?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Kairi smiled and got ready to run. "Set… Go!" She took off running as fast as she could, but Riku easily passed her. She smiled as she tried to catch up, but she didn't reach him until well after he had reached the pier.

She leaned against one of its poles and caught her breath. "Hey…Riku! You know… what we could do now?"

Riku tilted his head and stared at her. "What?"

Instead of answering, Kairi straightened up and ran over to the ladder. She scrambled up the ladder and plopped onto the deck. She looked around and finally found what she was looking for.

Kairi sat the plank on the sand and set the broken piece of pole onto it vertically. She tried to tie the pole to the plank, but she kept messing up.

Riku took the rope and helped her tie it properly. "Like this?" he said, grinning slightly.

Kairi smiled and hugged him. "Yeah!"

Riku cheeks tinted slightly and he looked down at the miniature raft they had made. "So why did we make this?"

Kairi smiled and let go of Riku. "The winds are perfect for a voyage! Let's send it off!" She dug into her pocket and pulled out three seashells. "This red one is Sora, this green one is you, and the pink one is me! We'll send them off to sea, and…"

"…Maybe they'll reach your home town?"

Kairi smiled, a bit of sadness showing through. "Yeah. They'll know I'm okay, and that I've made two great friends here."

"It'll need a sail first," Riku said pensively.

Kairi gasped and looked around. "I forgot about that! Where could we find one…" Suddenly, her eyes widened as she got a great idea.

She reached down and tore off a part of her skirt, since she was wearing shorts underneath anyway. She tied it to the little raft's mast. "How's this?"

Riku looked down, slightly redder than before. "It should work."

They set it in the ocean and watched it sail away, carried by the winds. "How far do you think it'll go?"

"…I think it'll make it." Riku rubbed Kairi's head playfully. "Don't worry. They'll get your message."

"Safe sailing!" She called out to their little boat.

"…Maybe we should make our own. Then we could leave the islands. We could travel the worlds…" Riku started to trail off into his imagination and ambitions.

Kairi looked at Riku oddly. "…Yeah. And next time, that sleepyhead Sora will help out."

She tugged down at the remaining part of her skirt, trying to ignore the draft.


	11. Buzz

Setting: _Radiant Garden, Before BBS; _Destiny Islands, Unspecified  
>Genre: General<br>Characters: Kairi  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Buzz<p>

_Kairi ran around and collected flowers for her grandmother again, careful to avoid the bees. It wasn't too hard, since the bees made a sound she could always distinguish. When she heard the low buzzing, she knew to get out of the way to allow all the little bees to do their jobs. He grandma said that they help the flowers grow, so Kairi smiled as the bee flew from flower to flower._

Kairi poked around the tropical forest of her island and marveled at all the vivid colors. All the shades of green in the leaves and all the lovely flowers were what she loved about this place. She heard the low buzzing of a bee and stood out of its way. She never ran, though. She just watched as the bees flew from flower to flower. It was a habit of hers, although she couldn't remember when she had picked it up.


	12. Retracing

Setting: Destiny Islands, Just after KH2 ended  
>Genre: General<br>Characters: Kairi, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Retracing<p>

Birds flew blithely through the bright blue skies and the wind blew gently as the sun shined down radiantly on Destiny Islands.

It was almost as though nothing had happened. Almost.

As Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka played together on the island, Kairi stood off alone, watching them happily. She couldn't really pretend everything was perfectly fine, though. It wasn't the same. Her two best friends were gone now, and she had no idea where they'd gone. She could do nothing to help them.

She meandered around the lush forestry along the path as she retraced the last steps she had taken before the storm destroyed the islands. Then, she had had to avoid the Shadows and wasn't feeling quite right. Now, she took her time and as she walked calmly.

When she entered the Secret Place, she looked around and marveled as the sun shone through the top. She looked around at their old pictures with a newfound curiosity. Some of them reminded her of Sora's journey and friends.

She ran her hand across the sketches on the walls as she stared at them with a small smile on her face. She stopped in surprise when she saw the picture of herself and Sora. She remembered when the two of them drew that picture. They were both small and had drawn a profile of the other.

There was something new here, though. Sora was giving a paopu fruit to Kairi, now.

Kairi giggled as a tear ran down her cheek. She could clearly imagine Sora drawing that little addition. It was just the kind of cheesy…sweet thing that he'd do.

Kairi ran her hand over the new addition to the picture: herself giving Sora a paopu. She smiled as she finished retracing her image and whispered quietly, "Come back soon, Sora."


	13. Refrigerate

Setting: Radiant Garden, Before BBS  
>Genre: Family<br>Characters: Kairi, Kairi's grandmother  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Refrigerate<p>

Kairi woke up and looked around excitedly. It was still nighttime, but she was too excited to get back to sleep. Her grandma had been making a treat just for Kairi since she had cleaned her room yesterday. Kairi couldn't wait to see what it was.

She hopped out of her bed and tiptoed to her door. There was also something else she wanted to see. She pushed it open just a bit before looking around in the hallway. She smiled. "Coast clear!" She whispered to herself before she quietly ran to the kitchen.

She looked around, trying to see where her treat could be. What could it be? She climbed onto a stool and looked into a cookie jar. "...No..." she whispered dejectedly as she reached around and found it empty. She jumped down and looked in one of the cabinets. "...No..." She frowned and stood up. So it wasn't cookies? Then what could it be?

Suddenly, the lights came on. Kairi scrambled underneath the table and tried to stay hidden.

"Looking for something, Kairi?"

Kairi crawled forward and looked up at her grandmother. "Uh-huh..."

Her grandmother smiled down at her and pet Kairi softly on the head. "You were supposed to wait, you know."

"Please, grandma? Just one?" Kairi asked sweetly.

Her grandmother laughed and helped her up. "Okay, but just one. Can you guess what it is, first?"

Kairi closed her eye, deep in thought. "...Cake?"

Kairi's grandmother shook her head. "Keep your eyes closed and I'll get them from the refrigerator."

"Ice cream?" Kairi guessed again, but remember that that went in the freezer instead. "Um... Jello?"

"Open you mouth and say 'ah'." Her grandmother help out a spoon to Kairi's mouth.

Kairi tasted the dessert and tried to recognize it. "Berries... cakes...?" Kairi opened her eyes and stared at the dessert. "What is it?"

"A mini berry cheesecake. How is it?"

Kairi smiled and reached for more. "I really like it!"

Her grandmother held them out of reach, though. "Now, now. It's time to go back to bed. I'll have to keep these cool, and we'll finish them tomorrow."

"Aw, please?" Kairi pouted.

"I'll tell you the story again if we go to bed now," her grandmother coaxed.

Kairi immediately perked up and started running to her room. "Come on, come on!" She called to her grandma. "Story, story, story!"

Her grandmother laughed again and followed behind her.


	14. Greet

Setting: Destiny Islands, Just after KH2 ending  
>Genre: Friendship<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora, Riku  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Greet<p>

"We- we're back."  
>Kairi smiled back and bent down to meet Sora. She held out her hand and welcomed him happily. "You're home."<br>Sora cheerfully took her hand and simultaneously returned her good-luck charm.

"...Riku? You okay?" Kairi walked out timidly to her friend as he watched King Mickey, Goofy, and Donlad fly away in their ship. "You still haven't looked around the islands. It's been a whole year. Maybe some things have changed," she coaxed.  
>Riku shook his head slowly as the ship disappeared from sight. "I bet nothing's changed as much as I have."<br>Kairi smiled and took his hand. "Okay, you're on! Loser treats the winner to ice cream!"  
>"Wha- Kairi, that's not-"<br>"Come on, come on!" Kairi pulled him along towards her boat. "Let's see!" She sat down and motioned for Riku to do the same. "First things first, the play island!"  
>Kairi noticed quick flash of guilt in Riku's eyes before he shook it off and smiled down at her. "Yeah."<br>Kairi smiled, ignoring the guilt that she saw a while ago. She knew Sora had helped Riku lose most of his anxiety for returning. Now she had to finish. "Sora told you how you have to meet everyone, right?" Kairi took her oars and began paddling.  
>"...Can't say I remember that..." Riku lied, chuckling.<br>"Oh? Guess we'll have to skip that part. Aw." Kairi giggled.

When the two of them reached the island, Kairi hopped out and tied her boat to the pier. "Ready, Riku?" Before he could answer, she stood up and called to her friend. "Selphie! Guess what!"  
>Selphie stopped jumping rope and looked back towards her friend. "Kairi! Where'd you go before?" Selphie ran over, still holding her jump-rope. "So you can come here now?"<br>Kairi nodded and motioned towards her boat. "I told you we'd see him again soon," she said playfully.  
>Selphie's eyes grew wide in shock as she looked in the boat. "R-Riku! You're back! And way taller!"<br>Riku rose his hand so the sunlight wouldn't block his view. "Hey Selphie."  
>Selphie jumped up and down in excitement before embracing Kairi in a quick hug. "You must be so happy, Kairi! He's back!"<br>Kairi laughed and answered, "Yup, ecstatic! You?"  
>Selphie turned around and waved. "Tidus! Wakka! Come here!"<br>Wakka and Tidus ignored her and continued their game of Blitz Ball.  
>Selphie scowled and ran over to the boys, whipping her jump rope around. "I said come here! Guess who's back!"<br>"Ow- Selphie we- ow- we already saw Sora!" Tidus said, trying to dodge her attacks.  
>"Then I don't mean Sora!"<br>"Who?" Wakka asked.  
>Selphie pointed to the pier as Kairi helped Riku out of the boat.<br>"Riku!" Tidus called, utterly surprised. He and Wakka ran over to Riku and Kairi stood out of the way as the three boys caught up again.  
>"Hey, brudda! Where ya been?" Wakka said, heartily patting Riku's back.<br>"We're up for a match later, right? It's been way too long!" Tidus challenged. "I've gotten way stronger!"  
>"Why wait, then? Let's go!" Riku said. He pulled his hand back to summon his keyblade, but Kairi quickly handed him his wooden sword instead.<br>"You'll probably need this, right?" Kairi reminded.  
>Riku smiled and nodded. "...Yeah."<br>"I'm getting in on this, too." Selphie cheered, showing off her jump-rope. "Three-on-one rematch! It's been... a year, hasn't it?"  
>Kairi ran to the sidelines and clapped. "I'm cheering for ya, Riku!"<br>"You traitor!" Selphie called back to her playfully, and both girls stuck their tongues out.  
>"Well, then, let's go!"<p>

Kairi clapped as she and Riku explored the rest of the islands. "Nice job, Riku! Maybe you haven't changed, after all. This'll be easy for me to win, right?"  
>"Ha. Those guys are the same as a year ago," Riku boasted. "Nice try."<br>"Oh?" Kairi fiegned ignorance. "Really? Haven't changed?" She smiled and ran to the other side of the island. "Then how about this?" She ran through the door and Riku followed after her.  
>"What about..." Riku slowed to a stop as he stared at what was in front of him. "That's..."<br>"Our raft." Kairi walked over to it and leaned against the mast. She pulled out her good-luck charm and looked it over in her hands. "It wasn't destroyed in the storm. Not completely." She looked up from her charm and smiled at Riku. "We should take a ride on it one day. All three of us, together."  
>She sat down on the wooden planks and looked out at the ocean. "You know... I can't remember if I really meant it or not, but the day before the storm... I asked Sora if just he and I should take the raft and go out to explore. I'm..."<br>Riku knelt down to look at Kairi's face and noticed a tear roll down her cheek. "Even after you did most of the work... I'm sorry, Riku... Maybe, if nothing else, it was me that changed..."  
>Riku embraced Kairi comfortingly. "No, Kairi, that's not it. That's not it at all. I'm sure of it..." Riku wasn't as sure as he sounded, but he couldn't stand to see his best friend crying like this. "You've gotta pull it together... It doesn't even matter now, does it?"<br>Kairi patted Riku's back. "...Right. Not anymore. We're together again... all of us. Me, and you, and Sora..." Kairi pulled back and wiped the remaining tears from her face. "Sorry. I don't know what came over me... But, Riku?"  
>"What?"<br>"What we just talked about... our mistakes not mattering because we're together again... Get it memorized, 'kay?"  
>Riku smiled. "Someone spent a little too much time with Axel."<br>"Couldn't help that," Kairi said, winking. "Didn't have much of choice." She stood up and dusted off her skirt. "One more stop, Riku. Then we'll decide who won the bet."

Kairi stood in front of the door and looked back at Riku. "Are you ready?"  
>Riku looked at what had been his house, before everything had happened. "...I..."<br>"Riku, we still have our bet, remember? If your parent's love and care for you has changed in all that time, then I'd say I win. Otherwise, I'll have to get the ice cream. So," Kairi held her fist up to the door, but didn't knock yet. "...Are you scared I'll beat you?" She looked back at Riku with an understanding smile.  
>Riku stared at her and then the house. "...I'll knock."<br>Kairi stepped out of the way as Riku hesitantly walked up to his door and knocked. "Hey, Mom, Dad. It's... It's Riku."

Riku sat on the paopu branch and stared out at the sunset.  
>"Did I keep you waiting?" Kairi said, returning with two sea-salt ice cream bars in her hands. Sora followed behind her, carrying a half-eaten sea-salt ice cream.<br>Riku shook his head.  
>Kairi smiled and sat down next to Riku, while Sora took a seat next to her. "I really wanted to do this for a whole year... Let's watch the sunset together again from here. Then we'll head back home. Sound good?" Kairi handed Riku his ice cream.<br>"Sounds like a plan to me!" Sora answered cheerfully. "I've missed this, too."  
>Riku silently watched the sunset as the three of them finished their ice creams together. Sora and Kairi joked around, like they always had, and they occasionally pulled Riku in, too.<br>"Oh, I almost forgot!" Kairi smiled at Riku. "Welcome back home, Riku."  
>"...It's nice to be back."<p> 


	15. Rewind

Setting: Varied  
>Genre: General<br>Characters: Kairi, Pluto, Hayner, Selphie, Kairi's grandma  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Rewind<p>

Kairi sat on the bent palm tree and stared out at the sunset. Sora and Riku had gone off on another journey. This one had wasn't about bring back together their trio, though. This was about saving those around them. She'd used a keyblade for a while before, but she wasn't even sure how. She couldn't help them out right now, anyway. She'd stay back here, with Selphie and the others. She's hold down the fort, and welcome them when they came back. She hopped off the tree and looked around as the sun started to set. How long had she been waiting...?

Kairi sat in her cell with Pluto as they dejectedly looked out through the bars. No, she couldn't be waiting again, right? Even worse, she was causing trouble, now. She sat there silently, knowing the jailer would come soon to rub salt in the wounds.

"I'm sure Sora will be back soon." Kairi smiled as she realized that she wouldn't have to wait much longer. She and Sora would find Riku together. Or maybe he would already have Riku, and they could just head back home, together. Soon...

Kairi stared out as her letter in a bottle floated away. Her letter... to Sora. Selphie kneeled beside her and watched as well, although she frequently looked over towards Kairi again. Kairi found it hard to focus on that, though. A year. She hadn't seen Sora or Riku in over a year. And here she was, still waiting. Was something wrong? She didn't feel right just waiting here...

Kairi sat back in their cave and stared at the drawing of herself and Sora once again. It was something from before all this. From before the islands tore apart, and before Sora went out to find Riku without her. As she looked around at the other drawings in the cave, and remember the journey Sora had been on just before, when he was searching for both her and Riku. She stood up and stretched. She'd been here long enough. She was sure Sora would find and return Riku soon. For now, she'd focus on other things.

Kairi sat alone in the house as she waited for Sora and Riku to return. She felt so restless. Her friends were in danger, and she wanted to help! But, she did as she was told, and waited. It wouldn't be long.

Kairi stood by the raft and waited for her friends to bring her the supplies. They were going on a trip to other worlds. At first, she hadn't been sure about it... but now she couldn't wait! She wished they'd hurry up, though...

Kairi swung her legs and looked at the ground. "Now, Kairi, you won't have to wait long," her grandmother promised as she patted Kairi's head. "I'll be right back."  
>"I hate waiting though. I can't come?"<br>"Sorry, Kairi."  
>"Okay, but I don't want to wait a whole bunch! Please, grandma?"<br>"Of course, Kairi. Just for a bit."


	16. Collaborate

Setting: Dungeon, Sometime in future  
>Genre: General<br>Characters: Kairi, Riku, Pete, Sora, Maleficent  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Collaborate<p>

"There's no way I'm doing this!" Riku said angrily.

Kairi sighed and watched as everyone argued over the current conditions.

"Hmph! Then you Bozos are on your own!" Pete yelled angrily.

"You're in the same situation as us!" Sora argued. "You helped us out at the Castle! Why not now?"

"What's in it for us?" Maleficent stroked her pole devilishly.

"This is pointless. We can't trust them!" Riku reminded Sora. "We'll find a way out ourselves. Let them stay down here."

"It's hopeless for you to try alone," Maleficent warned. "But I won't stop you if you insist on being foolish."

"Foolish is trusting you again!" Riku yelled.

"Watch it!" Pete yelled.

Sora tried to calm them down. "Everyone-"

"ENOUGH!" Kairi shouted, stomping her foot. "This isn't getting us anywhere!" She crossed her arms and locked eyes with Maleficent. "It's obvious that we don't exactly trust you, and neither side wants to work together. Fine. Or, it would be..." Kairi motioned at their surroundings. "If we weren't all trapped down here, waiting to see what Xehanort's going to do when he gets here!" Her voice cracked, but she refused to cry right now. "I'm tired of waiting for the end!"

"Heh, you sure have experience, don't you?" Pete muttered. Riku elbowed him bitterly.

"Kairi..." Sora said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"This is a chance to get out. With Xehanort out of your way, world conquest will be that much easier, right?" Riku spat.

"Yeah, and what are the chance these kids will survive it, anyway?" Pete whispered to Maleficent, prompting glares from all three "kids".

"Very well," Maleficent finally decided. "We'll collaborate for the time being."

Sora and Kairi smiled at each other, but Riku didn't let his guard down. "Good. Now that that's settled, here's the plan."

"Hey, we're the ones in charge here!" Pete demanded.

"Fine, do you have a plan?" Riku challenged.

Kairi sighed. This wasn't going to be an easy partnership... but none of this had been easy. She smiled and sunk back as the boys argued. "...Maleficent, are you willing to hear it? The sooner we get out, the sooner the world's yours."

Maleficent smirked. "Clever girl. What plan have you three constructed, then?"

"...Someone's coming," Sora noticed. "It's now or never. Ready, guys?"

Everyone nodded, now that they all finally understood the plan. "Let's go."


	17. Crumbled

Setting: Hollow Bastion, After Kairi woke up  
>Genre: Tragedy, Angst<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora, Riku  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Crumbled<p>

Crumbling cookies, crumbling sand castles, crumbling leaves... Everything that crumbled was sad. It fell apart and always seemed impossible to fix. She was afraid that that was what would happen to her friendship with Sora and Riku. It felt so strained, lately.

But as she watched Sora fall into light at her hands, and as she saw Riku being controlled, barely able to move, she knew she'd been wrong. Their friendship could survive, none of them would let it fall apart. Sora's come this far to make sure of that. And Riku had done all this to hold onto the friendship. If anything, Kairi had made the rift worse.

What crumbled wasn't the friendship, the bonds, the memories. What crumbled, then and there, was her heart.


	18. Bedded

Setting: Radiant Garden, Before BBS  
>Genre: Friendship<br>Characters: Kairi, Aerith  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Bedded<p>

Kairi dug several holes into the soil. "How's this, how's this?" she asked excitedly as she patted the dirt around it.

"I could have lent you my tools, Kairi," Aerith said, laughing at the younger girl.

"I want to hurry, though!" Kairi cheered. "I want to grow my flowers soon!"

Aerith chuckled and felt the soil of the flower bed. "Hm...Make sure the soil bed is nice and moist."

Kairi got water from her cup and sprinkled the soil with her hands. "Like this?"

Aerith checked the soil again. "...Yes, perfect. Good job," she said, smiling at Kairi. She held out a packet of seeds for Kairi. "Now you can put these in."

Kairi smiled as Aerith poured some seeds into her hand. "One at a time," Aerith advised.

Kairi nodded and carefully placed the seeds in their holes. "One... two... three..." she counted until she had planted all the seeds. She covered them back up and patted the soil down. "How long until they turn into flowers?" she asked as she patted the dirt off her hands.

"It's going to take a while. You'll have to take good care of them while they grow so they'll turn out good."

"Don't worry, I will!" Kairi exclaimed. She patted the flower bed once more and whispered, "You can sleep for now, little seeds. Soon, you will grow into big, beautiful flowers!"

"Just like the ones already around Radiant Gardens, right?" She asked Aerith.

Aerith nodded. "We have to keep it beautiful, right?"

"Right!"


	19. Yelp

Setting: Destiny Islands, Around age 6  
>Genre: Friendship, Action<br>Characters: Kairi, Wakka  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Yelp<p>

"I can do this!" Kairi said confidently, holding her toy sword in her hand. "Sora and Riku had no problem with it. I want to try, too!"

"You sure, sistah?" Wakka asked again, tossing his ball in his up and down in his hand.

"Yeah, I've seen them do it before! I can do it, too!" Kairi swung her sword playfully. "It looks fun! Let's play!"

"Play is for kids. This is serious!" Wakka smiled and got into position.

"Right!" Kairi yelled, choking up on her sword.

Wakka threw his blitball at Kairi and she ducked out of the way. She smiled as she rushed towards him and whacked him with the broad side of her sword. She swung the sword twice more so the edge hit him in the sides.

He jumped out of the way before she could get in anymoer hits. Kairi smiled. "See? Not bad, right?" She said, resting her sword on her shoulder.

"Okay, then," he said, leaping into the air. "Take this!"

"Eep!" Kairi yelped as she fell back to try to avoid it. "Ow... that's enough for now, then," Kairi said, wiping her leg where it hit her. "You win... for now," she added, sticking out her tongue at him.

"All right! Ha ha!" he cheered, and Kairi giggled.

"For now," she reminded. "I'll get you tomorrow for sure."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you, Mite, for your help with this one!<strong>


	20. Hop

Setting: Destiny Islands, After "Yelp"  
>Genre: Friendship, Action<br>Characters: Kairi, Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, Sora, Riku  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Hop<p>

Kairi clutched her sword tightly as she stared the older boy down. "Our rematch!" she proclaimed, swinging it proudly.

***  
>She'd been bragging all day about how she'd definately be able to defeat Wakka today, "just like Riku and Sora can".<p>

"Yeah, right!" Tidus had replied, laughing. "Wakka can take you!"

"Are you sure, Kairi?" Selphie had shown disbelief.

"Go at it with all you've got!" Sora had cheered. "I'll be rooting for ya!"

"Be careful, then. If you want, I can help you get ready," Riku had offered.

"Go, Kairi! You can do it!" Sora called, waving from the pier as he and the others watched.

Kairi smiled. She wouldn't be this confident if not for Riku's tips. She got into Riku's fighting pose and giggled. "Let's go!"

Wakka grinned. "Show me your stuff!"

Kairi kept her eyes trained on his ball. As soon as he started to toss it, she took off, running in wide circles while still keep her eye on the ball. She suddenly stopped and swung as one of them came towards her.

She grinned and sprinted towards Wakka as soon as the ball had knocked him into a daze. She started with a focused, but relatively weak swing aimed at his abdomen, then followed with several other hits before Wakka threw another ball.

She held her sword up defensively, but the force had still managed to knock her onto the ground. She landed on her hands and curled forwards.

"I'm good, huh?" Wakka bragged.

Kairi grinned. "Not good enough!" She pushed herself up and kicked him back. She waved at Riku and called, "How was I?" She called happily.

"Awesome!" Sora called back, while silently Riku smiled and nodded. "Ah- behind you!"

Kairi clutched her sword again and turned around to ward off the ball Wakka had thrown. She rushed foward again, swinging wildly as Wakka retreated. He tripped over a rock and she got on top of him, aiming her sword at his face. "Giving up?"

Wakka sighed and grudging said, "Man, you've been training a lot, ya?"

Kairi got off of him and hopped up and down in joy. "I did it, I did it! Sora, Riku, I did it! Selphie, Tidus, I won! I did it, I did it!"

Sora ran over, Riku following close behind. "I can't believe it, Kairi! You did it!"

Kairi hugged Sora. "Well, I had help," she admitted. She let go and hugged Riku tightly, making him blush. "Thank you so much, Riku!" She pulled and grabbed his hands, hopping in excitement again. "I won, I won!"

"Lucky shot," Tidus remarked, and Kairi stuck out her tongue at him.


	21. Gallop

Setting: The Kingdom in Tangled, Post KH2  
>Genre: Friendship, Action<br>Characters: Kairi, Maximus, Flynn Rider  
>Rating: K+<p>

* * *

><p>Gallop<p>

Kairi sat next to Maximus on the dock and held the last apple a she watched the lanterns. "A missing princess, huh? Do you think anyone's missing me, Maximus?" she asked dreamily.

"Rapunzel? Rapunzel!"

"That was.. Flynn!" Maximus and Kairi jumped up and looked out to see Flynn sailing away in a boat. "Is he... trapped in there? What do you is going on?" Kairi looked to Maximus and handed him the last apple. "We have to go get Sora and Riku!"

Maximus nodded and bent his legs slightly so Kairi could climb on.

Kairi hesitated and stepped back. "I'd probably slow you down, and I'd hate to fall again... But we have a theif to save, right?" Kairi took a deep breath and clumsily climbed onto Maximus. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nodded.

"To the Snuggly Duckling!" Kairi called as she and Maximus galloped away.


	22. Righteously

Setting: Disney Castle, After KH2  
>Genre: Friendship, HurtComfort  
>Characters: Kairi, Minnie, Daisy<br>Rating: K+

* * *

><p>Righteously<p>

Kairi took another bite of her Royalberry ice cream as Minnie led her through the Audience Court. Her thoughts kept wandering back to Sora and Riku... How were they out there? Why had they left her behind again?

A hint of sour brought Kairi from her thoughts. She looked at her Queen themed ice-cream and remembered that she wasn't the only one left behind again... Minnie's husband had left her, for even longer.

"Your Majesty..." Kairi started.

"Please, call me Minnie," The Queen said, smiling kindly.

"How can you stand being left so much? I mean..."

"I helped her, sometimes," Lady Daisy said, walking in with tea for them. "In fact, we helped each other."

Kairi turned towards Daisy. Donald had left her, too... It was like Selphie helping her through the pain of waiting. "How do we know it's right? That we can't help at all?"

"No one said we're not helping," Minnie answered, smiling a little. "I look after the citizens of Disney Town. He has to have somewhere to return to, after all."

"And I," Daisy cut in, matter-of-factly, "Have to take care of some things for Donald, and watch his nephews. That duck would fall apart without me. Which is why he should visit more!" Daisy crossed her arms and huffed angrily. "If he misses our date again, I swear..."

Kairi laughed at how upset she was getting. She and Donald made a good pair. Daisy and Minnie smiled at her, but Kairi soon stopped and regained her pensive expression. "But what am I doing? What's the right thing for me to do?"

Minnie took Kairi's hand motherly and smiled, knowing exactly how she felt. "That's up to you to decide, dear. We can't decide for you."


	23. Bluntly

Setting: Destiny Islands, at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 1  
>Genre: Friendship, HurtComfort  
>Characters: Kairi, Sora<br>Rating: K+

* * *

><p>Bluntly<p>

Kairi leaned against the raft's mast and worked on her thalassa charm. Something was up... She could tell that much. Riku was... different. She knew she wasn't imagining it... She couldn't put it to words, but she knew it was so.

She closed her eyes and felt the gentle island breeze. She should tell Sora. He had to know. He had to...

_"You know, Riku has changed..."_

She afraid she was being too blunt with that, and changed the subject, wanting to believe she was wrong. Maybe she could cover it up with a joke... Just a joke...

_"You're the one that's changed Kairi."_

She really hoped Riku hadn't heard her last words to Sora, somehow, because those blunt words really did hit harder than any sharp blade she could think of. "Maybe..." 


	24. Coldly

Setting: The Castle That Never Was, Kingdom Hearts II  
>Genre: General<br>Characters: Kairi, Saïx, Pluto  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Coldly<p>

It didn't matter that the islands had conditioned her to be used to much warmer weather. Or maybe it did- a little, at least. But that wasn't why she was shivering.

It wasn't the fear either. Kairi was scared, of course. She didn't know what they had planned to do to her or even exactly where she was. But if that was it, she could have sat still in her little corner, with Pluto there to at least keep her calm.

What never failed to send a shiver down her spine though -what really made her shake- was the look in Saïx's eyes. It was as if he really couldn't feel...

And that may have been the scariest thing Kairi had run into so far.


	25. End

Setting: Destiny Islands, End of Kingdom Hearts II  
>Genre: Angst<br>Characters: Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>End<p>

Kairi stood on the islands, somehow left to wait again. She had thought it was finally over, so how had she managed to be separated again?

To be left behind again?

Mickey, Goofy, and Donald were no less worried than her, but they were almost frantic in their waiting. They were usually out on the front lines, or at least behind the scenes, fighting for everyone's happy ending. And yet here they were, just waiting for the ending and hoping it would turn out well.  
>When the falling stars fell, and she say her friends emerge from the water, she knew it was finally the end.<p> 


	26. Commemoration

Setting: Destiny Islands, After of Kingdom Hearts II  
>Genre: Friendship<br>Characters: Kairi, Sora, Riku, Selphie, Wakka, Tidus  
>Rating: K<p>

* * *

><p>Commemoration<p>

"Cheers!" Kairi yelled, raising her glass high. "To you two being home safe and sound again!"

"Aw, jeez, Kairi, you didn't have to put this whole thing together for us," Sora laughed. "I mean, a whole party?"

"Really, Kairi," Riku added, sipping his own pineapple juice. "Thanks."

Kairi pulled them both into a hug. "This is a huge occassion, guys, bigger than Christmas! It needed to be commemorated!"

"Oh, yeah, Riku, that reminds me, about Santa Claus-"

"Not this again, Sora," Riku said with a laugh.

"But it's true!"

The whole group laughed at Sora's plight. It was just like the old days, Kairi noticed. Even though so much had changed, everything was just the same. "It's almost like they never left, isn't it?"

"You guys had disappeared for a whole year somewhere, though!" Selphie interrupted. "The islands felt completely empty without you guys!"

"Actually, to tell the truth, I forgot about Sora for most of that time," Tidus admitted. "But I was totally wondering where you went, Riku!"

"Me, too, brudda," Wakka said with a laugh.

"Oh, not you guys, too!" Sora pouted, but he was holding back his own laughter. "Did everyone somehow forget me for a whole year? And not Riku?"

Riku ruffled Sora's hair as they all laughed again. "I don't know how, either, you're not easy to forget."

"Exactly!"

"So..." Selphie took a short breath before asking, "Where were you guys in all that time anyway?"

Sora and Riku looked to each other, not sure how to answer, then both glanced to Kairi hopefully.

"Well, it doesn't really matter, does it?" Kairi offered. "As long as they're back now."


End file.
